Santa Anita has completed the renovation of its main track and will reopen for training on Sept. 2, the track announced in a press release on Monday. The stable area opens on Sunday.
Over the past two months, Santa Anita replaced its sand-and-clay mix with El Segundo sand, single-source material made available because of construction near Los Angeles International Airport.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Alex Solis, who was inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame earlier this month, will resume riding in Southern California in the coming weeks, according to his new agent, Brandon O’Bryan.
Solis, was a fixture in Southern California from the early 1980s until April 2010, when he moved to the East Coast. This year, Solis has ridden in Florida and New York. He has had one win at the current Saratoga meeting.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Part of the purse of a $12,500 claiming race May 1 at Santa Anita has been redistributed after the runner-up Luckbox Sam was disqualified after testing positive for two class 3 medications, the Del Mar stewards announced Saturday.
Luckbox Sam earned $3,200, which was forfeited. As a result the original third- through sixth-place finishers were moved up a placing – Northern Force, Meringue Pie, Shackbamalama, Tiz Futurity, and Ekahi.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockeys Martin Garcia and Jorge Vargas Jr. have been given three-day suspensions for riding infractions last week.
Garcia will be suspended Friday through Sunday for causing interference on Book Worm in the first race last Friday. Book Worm finished sixth of seven. There was no disqualification in the race.
Vargas was cited for his ride on Cinderella Lady in the fifth race last Thursday. Cinderella Lady was disqualified from fifth to eighth for causing interference in the stretch. Vargas, who rides sparingly, is suspended Thursday through Saturday.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday Palace Malice will bypass the Grade 1 Woodward here Saturday to await the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Sept. 27.
Pletcher made his decision following a discussion with Dogwood Stable president Cot Campbell and after the 2013 Belmont winner had worked a half-mile in 48.93 seconds in company with stablemate Capo Bastone over the Saratoga main track earlier that morning.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Big John B earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 1 after his win in the $200,250 Del Mar Handicap on Saturday and may not start in the interim.
Trainer Phil D’Amato said Sunday he has not ruled out the $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita on Sept. 28 but is not focused on that race.
“We’ll see how he trains,” D’Amato said. “The goal is the Breeders’ Cup Turf. He’s such a willing work horse and an easy horse to get fit.”
DEL MAR, Calif. - Masochistic, the easy winner of an optional claimer over seven furlongs Saturday likely will make his stakes debut in the $200,000 Los Alamitos Mile on Sept. 6, trainer A.C. Avila said.
Avila said Sunday he will assess Masochistic’s condition in the next week before finalizing plans. He expressed concern that Masochistic could need time to recover.
“He looks great, but sometimes his energy goes like that suddenly,” Avila said, pointing downward.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Skyway has been the star of trainer Mark Casse’s stable in California this year, highlighted by a win Aug. 3 in the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar. He could be the circuit’s star 2-year-old after the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 3.
Owned by John Oxley, Skyway is expected to be favored in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity run over seven furlongs. On Sunday, Skyway had his final workout before the race, going five furlongs in 1:00.40.
“I thought it was a good work,” Casse said. “I didn’t want to do a whole lot when he gets so close.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Tony Dutrow was extremely confident his grand-looking 3-year-old The Big Beast could successfully make the jump from winning an entry-level allowance race here earlier in the meet to defeat Grade 1 competition in Saturday’s King’s Bishop. And sure enough, he did, although not without a few anxious moments for his connections.
